Session 1: The Broken Cart

The man's eyes nervously flicked from the odd, bandaged man to the others who were approaching. He answered carefully, "It's mine, and it's mine now." He licked his lips and tightened his grip on his axe, "If you're looking to make it yours, I'm sure we can come to an agreement without resorting to violence."

Peering under the canvas reveals an assortment of branches and sections of wood. A closed box rests toward the back of the cart with a haversack lying on top of it.

It opens easily, revealing a collection of intricately-carved wooden items. Creatures, flowers, people, faces, and other unique shapes all depict the skills of an obviously talented whittler. There's also a thin, canvas sleeve containing an assortment of small knives.

Mig hears Crash interacting with someone somewhere through the trees. Carefully arcing his way through the woods, he makes his way to to a point on the creek, downstream of the conversation.

Visibly relaxing, the man answers, "I'd rather not sell it. To be honest, I feared you might the bandits everyone is talking about. But as a fellow traveler, I'd certainly appreciate some help." He struck his axe into the trunk at his feet. Striding to the base of a nearby tree, he pulled out a broken wheel, "The name's Khoj. I'm a woodcarver by trade, but I didn't make the cart you saw. Now I'm wishing I had taken a closer look at it. You see here how the spokes twisted as they broke? Whoever made this either didn't pay enough attention to the grain or they chose from a poor selection of materials." Looking wistfully back at the fallen tree, he added, "I hoped to bind this together well enough to get to Yahmin before nightfall. Those stories about bandits aren't just told to scare the children." Looking at those near him he offered, "I'd be in your debt if you'd help me."

Once Mig sees everyone back on the path near the cart, and on friendly terms with the stranger, he steps out of the forest. He looks to meet Zippo's eye and offers a sort of neutral/indifferent shrug of the shoulders, as if to say seems harmless enough.

Happy to have help, and doubly happy to have someone he could explain woodcraft to, Khoj set to cutting a section from the fallen tree and planing it as best he could with his axe. He talked freely throughout the process, telling Crash about how the grain is what gives wood its strength and how the same piece of wood can be weakened by not paying close attention to what the grain is doing.

Having repaired the wheel as best he could, he directed the others to lift the cart so he could reaffix it. When it was in place, OOLIN easily set the final pin with her strange hands. Satisfied, he stepped back to study their handiwork, pushing the cart slightly to see how it'd roll, "Well, I think that'll do it. I really appreciate your kindness to a stranger on the road. It's not much, but I have some carvings I could give you as a thank you." He started pulling back the tarp when an arrow sprouted from the canvas, trapping it in place.

At the same time, Zippo saw movement in the brush. A burly man rose from the bushes, a greatsword hung casually from one hand. He called out, "I'll be taking those carvings, old man, and I'll be thanking you for the fixed up cart as well." Looking at the others, he continued, "And we'll be taking your stuff too. No one needs to get hurt, just leave your gear and move along."